Antibiotic production utilizing streptomyces venezuelae var. fulvofurvescens

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a new process for producing the antibiotic 11837 by fermentation using two newly discovered strains of the micro-organism Streptomyces venezuelae, of which they constitute a variety which has been designated var, fulvofurvescens.

Unied States Patent Inventors Appl. No.

Priority Denise Mancy Val-de-Marne; Leon Ninet; Jean Preudflomme, both of Paris, all of France 741,216

June 28, 1968 Dec. 14, 1971 Rhone-Poulenc S.A. Paris, France June 30, 1967 France ANTIBIOTIC PRODUCTION UTILIZING STREPTOMYCES VENEZUELAE VAR. FULVOFURVESCENS 13 Claims, No Drawings [52] US. Cl.... 195/80 [51] lnt.C1 C12d9/00 [50] Field of Search 195/80 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,483,892 10/1949 Ehrlich et al. 195/80 2,916,483 12/1959 Dutcher et al..... 195/80 X 3,089,816 5/1963 Galumann et a1 195/80 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,057,424 2/1967 Great Britain 195/80 Primary Examiner-Joseph M. Golian Attorney-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher I ABSTRACT: The invention provides a new process for ANTIBIOTIC PRODUCTION UTILIZING STREPTOMYCES VENEZUELAE VAR. FULVOFURVESCENS In our copending Pat. application Ser. No. 399,129 filed Sept. 16, 1964 (and in the corresponding British Pat. No. 1,057,424, published Feb. 1, 1967), we have described an antibiotic designated 1 1,837 R.P. This antibiotic is characterized therein by its solubility, elementary analysis, infrared spectrum and other properties and is shown to have antibacterial activity toward Gram-positive micro-organisms. The patent describes the preparation of the antibiotic by aerobically cultivating on an aqueous nutrient medium a microorganism known as Streptomyces viridans DS 9466, which was deposited at the Northern Regional Research Laboratory at Peoria, 111., USA. under the reference number NRRL 3087.

We have now found that this antibiotic 11,837 R.P. or salts thereof with bases can also be prepared by the use of two newly discovered micro-organisms of the species Streptomyces venezuelae, of which they constitute a variety which has been given the name Streptomyces venezuelae, fiilvofurvescens variety. These two micro-organisms will be designated respectively by the names S. venezuelae, var. fulvofurvescens DS 7,103 (NRRL 3354) and S. venezuelae, var. fulvofilrvescens DS 11,355" (NRRL 3355).

abundance of dark soluble pigment of orange-brown color, which rapidly becomes darker and darker and finally black, and which may color both the vegetative mycelium and the culture medium. S. venezuelae produces a rather similar pigment in some cases, but generally does so in a more moderate quantity and even fails to do so in some cases in which it is produced by the new micro-organisms (more particularly on certain synthetic media). This is why the latter have been called Streptomyces venezuelae, fulvofurvescens variety.

The cultural characteristics and the biochemical properties of S. venezuelae, var. fulvofurvescens DS 7,103 have been examined on a number of nutrient agars and nutrient broths generally used for examining Streptomyces strains. The collected results are shown in the following table 1; except where otherwise indicated, they refer to cultures grown for 2 to 4 weeks at 26 C., when a good stage of development has been reached. Some of the culture media employed were prepared in accordance with the formulas indicated in the The Actinomycetes, S. A. WAKSMAN, pp. 193-197, Chronica 0 Botanica Company, Waltham, Mass, U.S.A., 1950; in this case, they are indicated by the letter W followed by the number accorded to them in The Actinomycetes."

The references or compositions of the other culture media are as follows:

r W W Ref. K. L. JONES-Journal of Bacteriology, 57, p. 142 The organism DS 7,103 was isolated from a soil specimen 1949 collected in Algiers, Algeria, and DS 11,355 from a specimen B t 8 C t of soil collected England in the Gloucester region. The Ref c and Tram. a PRIDHAM meth ds f Is la i n r the Same as deseflbed the el al.Antibiotics Annual. l9561957, p. 950. aforesaid patent and application. 1m. 1) Yeast Extract Agar"-T. G. PRIDHAM et al.-

Antibiotics Annual, 1956-1957, p. 950. All the following characteristics which the two micro-organ- Ran E Pam 0am, PRIDHAM isms exhibit are in fact in agreement with those of the species ct aL-Antibiotica Annual, 1956-1957, p. 950. S. venezuelae described on the one hand in The Actino- F Th etinomycetca. vol. 2. p. asso. 42-s. A. mycetes," vol. 2 (s. A. WAKSMAN, The Williams and Wilf :;;:;f:;:1g:" kms pa y Baltimore, 1961 1 Pages 9 and the 1w. 0 w. E. GRIJNDY etaL-Antibiotics and Chem. 2. other hand in Bergeys Manual of Determinative Bactenolo- 401, 1952 gy" (7th edition [1957], The Williams and Wilkins Company, H M Baltimore), pages 780-781: production of black melanie Pi AM a a]. Amlbmma Annual 9564957- ment 9 an pp p medium containing tyrosine and Ref. 1 corresponds to t'omiula W-l. except that 30 g. of production of blackish-brown soluble pigment on the majority sucrose are replaced y 15 s ofshwoseof organic media, brownish-yellow to dark brown coloration' :"'r 1; sucrose ave n rep ace y g. o g ycenne. of the vegetative mycelium on all of these cultures, pink color Rm K revered as dimmed in Manual P of the sporulated aerial mycelium, and organization of the of Methods rot Pure Culture Study of Baceteria." sporiferous apparatus which consist in the production of of the Society of American filcleriolosim- Geneva, N.Y., Il -18. straight or slightly flexuous, elongate sporophores. V a V Rat L cormponds m formula a nap hm the They differ from the typespecies S. venezuelae previously sucrose is omitted and replaced by small strips of described in that they exhibit a number of differences in the' 'i p pp Partially in the q sources of carbon which they are capable of utilizing for their M :;g;::: 5: 2': ggxfitgg development, do not yield chloramphenicol as antibiotic Rat N Cmmm,a| g ,kimmcd milk: p odu but 1 1,8 R-P and in particular produce an reconstituted as instructed by the manufacturer.

TABLE I Aerial system Appearance of Appearance of (total of aerial Degree of vegetative underside of mycelium and Remarks and biochemical Culture medium development mycelium the culture sporulation) Soluble pigment properties Bennett's agar Good Very dark orange- Pale pink. Well Very dark Straight or slightly fiexuous, (Ref. A). brown to developed. orange-brown fairly long sporophores.

blackish-brown giierlixnghtgwards Cylirtildaicaldspores having 50 1S l'OWll IOUII e an S, measuring 0.3 to (lip/0.8 to 1.24 Emersons agar .do Yellow-brown. Thick Whitish, poorly .....do

(Ref. B). and folded, very developed. well developed. Hickey and Very good B1acklsh-br0wn Pale pink. Very Black Tresner agar well devel- (Ref. C). oped. Pridham's yeast do Black do .do

extract agar (Ref. D). Pridhams oats .do Very dark browndo Blaokish-browri..

and ligznatoE) yellow agar e Glucose-peptone Fairly good Very dark ahnost; Greyish-white. Brown-black agar (W7). blackish orange- Moderately brown developed. Nutrient agar Medium Greyish yellow- Nil Ye11ow-brown (W-3). grovsn. liziairly well eve ope Tyrosine-yeast Fairly good... Black Black Pink to greylsh- Deep black Formation ofmcluuliic:

extract agar for white. In the positive after 48 hours of formation of form of traces. cultivation.

melamine (Ref. F).

TABLE l- Continued Aerial system Appearance of Appearance of (total of aerial Degree of vegetative underside of mycelium and Remarks and biochemical Culture medium development mycelium the culture sporulation) Soluble pigment properties Krainskys do Pale brown-yellow, Pale pink. Weak brownlsh- Solubilisation oi the calcium calcium inalate Average grey. malate: good. agar (Ref. (3.). development. Glucose- Good Black... Very ale pink. Blackish-brown.

asparagine agar Mo erately (W-2) developed. Glycerinedo Orange-brown to whitish to very Very dark orangeasparagine agar black-brown. pale pink. brown, almost Moderately brown-black.

developed. Pridhams starch do Yellow-brown Very pale pink. Weak brownish- Straight or sllghtyl ilexuous,

agar (R f, H), Well develgrey. fairly long sporophores;

' oped. Cylindrical spores having rounded ends, measuring 0.3 130 0.5 lilo-8 to 1.2441. Hydrolysis of the starch: positive Czapeks syndo Thick, well Black Grayish-white. Very dark orangethetic sucrose developed. Moderately brown, almost agar. (W-l). developed. black. Czapeks syndo do Very dark orange- .-do Very dark orangethetic glucose bro brown. agar (Ref. I). Czapeks syn- ...do Thick and folded, Black. do Very dark orangethetic glycerine well developed. brown, almost agar (Ref. J). black. Potatoe culture Very good Black. Very thick Very pale Black W-27). and highly folded. greyish-pink,

in the form of traces. 12% pure gelatine Good Good development Yellow-brown Greyish-pink. Orange-brown..- Fairly rapid liquefaction of (Ref. K). on the surface. Average dethe gelatine.

velopment. I Starch-nitrate .do Velum well Dark orange-brown Whitish. Very Orange-brown in Reduction of the nitrates to broth (W-19). developed. moderately small quantity nitritesz positive.

developed. starting from the suriace. Czapeks cellu- Moderate but Pink-white, on Utilisation of the cellulose:

lose broth positive. the paper positive (Rel. L). emerging from the broth. Tresna and Good Black Nil Deep black. HgS: positive production Dangas Abundant. from 24 hours of cultivamedium tion. (Ref. M). skimmed milk do Well developed ring. Nil Very dark brown, Peptonisation starting at the (Ref. N). Dark maroon. almost blackand of 2weeks, almost ish. complete in 1 month. No

coagulation. pH changes from 6.3 to 7.0 in 1 month.

S. venezuelac, var. fidvafurvescem, DS 1 1,355, has similar characteristics to S. venezuelae, var. fulvofurvescens, DS 7,103 on the media referred to in the foregoing table I. The only appreciable difference hitherto observed in the behavior of these two strains resides in their capacity to utilize certain sources of carbon or nitrogen; strain DS 1 1,355 does not utilize adonitol, which is utilized by strain DS 7,103, but does utilize sarcosine, which is not utilized by strain DS 7,103.

The capacity of the two strains to utilize various sources of carbon and nitrogen for their development has been date rmined in accordance with the principle of the method of Pridham and Gottlieb (J. of Bact. 56, pp. 107-114[1948]); the

degree of development was observed on the basic medium described by these authors by replacing either glucose by the various sources of carbon tested, or (NI-M 50 by the various sources of nitrogen tested. The results are indicated in the following table 11:

of "Strepmmyces venezuelae, var. fulvofiirvescens DS 1 1,355"

takes place for the production of the antibiotic 11,837 R.P., and the methods of isolating this antibiotic from fermentation molds are identical to those described in the aforesaid patent for the prepiiratioii of 11,837 RFITrbm' "Streptomycin viridans" DS Q EE'TNRRL 3,087).

The culture is preferably effected under submerged aerobic culture conditions commencing at a pH between 6.0 and 7.8,

'rAacg 11 Utilisation by the Utilisation by the strains strains Sources of carbon tested DB 7,103 DS 11,365 Sources of nitrogen tested DS 7,103 DS 11,355

d-Ribose NaNOa d-Xylose NaNOi l-A18b1n0Se (NI-102504 l Rharnnose- (NHihHPOi d- Glucose. Adenin d- Galactose Adenosm d-Fructose. Uracil d-Mannose. Urea l Sorb0se l-Asparagine Lactose Glycocoll Maltese Sarcosin u r i Un -Alani e.

TABLE 11 Continued Utilisation by the Utilisation by the strains strains Sources of carbon tested DS 7,103 DS 11,355 Sources of nitrogen tested DS 7,103 DS 11,355

Trehalose dl-Vallne Cellobiose dl-Aspartlc acid Raffin0se l Glutamic acid Dextrln l-Arginine Inu1ln l-Lysine Starch dl-Threonlne Glycogen dl-Methionine Glycerol 'Iaurine Erythritol dl-phenylalanlne l-Tyrosine dl-Proline l-Hydroxproline. l-Histidine l-Tryptophane preferably between 6.5 and 7.5 and at a temperature from 23 to 35 C. preferably 25 to 28 C. with an aeration rate of 0.3 to 2 liters of air per liter of medium per minute for from 4 to 7 days.

The antibiotic may be separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to below 5, filtering and extracting the filter cake with water containing a lower alcohol (of up to six carbon atoms) at a pH of 3 to 7, or with a mixture of lower alcohols. Alternatively, it may be separated by adjusting the pH of the medium to about 7 and absorbing the antibiotic on to a strongly basic anion exchange resin from which it is eluted with an aqueous alcoholic solution containing an electrolyte.

The crude product may be concentrated and purified by the methods described in the aforesaid patent and application and, in particular, may be purified by chromatography.

The antibiotic 11,837 11.1. produced by the strains DS 7,103 and DS 1 1,355 is a mixture, the nature of the constituents of which is identical to that of the constituents of the antibiotic 11,837 R.P. produced by the strain DS 9,466 (which is actually also a mixture of a number of constituents having very similar biological and physicochemical properties); only the relative proportions of the constituents to one another may vary from one strain to the other, or even in the same strain from one batch of product to the other.

The constituents of the mixtures may be identified by the conventional methods of analyzing antibiotic mixtures, for example by paper and thin-layer chromatography and by electrophoresis, followed by microbiological development, for example by application to inoculated agar plates.

The infrared spectra of the products obtained by cultivation of the new strains, although not absolutely identical with the spectra shown in the aforesaid patent, have substantially the same absorption bands merely with a few differences in relative intensity which result from the variable proportions of the constituents in relation to one another.

The following examples illustrate the invention. In the following, the activity is measured biologically by the diffusion method, using Bacillus subtilis as the sensitive micro-organism and with reference to a specimen of pure 1 1,837 RP. taken as standard. This activity is expressed in units (u) per mg. for the solid products and in units per cc. for the solutions (a unit is defined as the minimum quantity of product which, dissolved in 1 cc. of the appropriate culture medium, inhibits the growth of Staphylococcus aureus 209 P under specified conditions).

EXAMPLE 1 A 170'liter fermentation vessel is charged with:

corn steep 4.8 kg. glucose hydrate 2.4 kg. sodium chloride 0.6 kg. magnesium sulfate 0.12 kg. water, to make 1 10 litres When the pH of the mixture has been adjusted to 7.30 by adding 535 cc. of sodium hydroxide solution (d=l.33), 0.6 kg. of calcium carbonate are added.

The nutrient is then sterilized by bubbling steam at corn steep 20 kg. starch 7.500 kg. aoya bean oil 7.500 liters monopotasaium phosphate 1 kg. magnesium sulfate 1 kg. cobalt chloride hexahydrate 0.010 kg. water, to make 460 liters When the pH of the mixture has been adjusted to 7.15 with 2,800 ml. of concentrated sodium hydroxide (d=l.33), there is added 5 kg. of calcium carbonate.

The culture medium at pH 7.35 is sterilized by bubbling steam at 122 C. through it for 40 minutes. After cooling, the broth has a volume of 490 liters and its pH is 7.05. The

product is then inoculated with 50 liters of the abovedescribed inoculum culture in a l70-litcr fermentation vessel.

The cultivation is performed at 30 C. for 96 hours with stirring with the aid of a turbine rotating at 285 r.p.m. and with aeration with a flow of sterile air of 25 cub. m./h. The pH of the medium is then 8.55 and the volume of the medium is 420 liters. The quantity of antibiotic present is 1820 u/cc.

EXAMPLE 2 Four hundred twenty liters of culture medium of Streptomyces venezuelae, var. fulvofurvescens DS 7,103, prepared as described in example 1, are adjusted to a pH value of 4 by means of phosphoric acid in an agitated tank. After agitation for half an hour, 20 kg. of Clarcel DlC are added to the medium and the suspension is passed to a filter press. After filtration, the mycelial cake is washed on a filter with 200 liters of water. The combined filtrate and washings (total volume 550 liters) are discarded. The wet cake, which weighs 1 13 kg., is suspended in a mixture of 250 liters of methanol and 50 liters of water in a tank with agitation. The pH of the suspension is adjusted to 7 by means of sodium hydroxide (d=l .33) and the agitation is continued for 1 hour. After this period, the suspension is passed to a filter press and the cake is washed with 50 liters of methanol containing 30 percent of water.

The extracted mycelium, which weighs 96 kg., is discarded. The methanol extract of the mycelium (total volume 360 liters) is concentrated under reduced pressure (40 mm. Hg) in a continuous recycling apparatus to a volume of 6 liters. The concentrate is then precipitated by means of a mixture of 30 liters of ethanol and 40 liters of acetone.

The precipitate is separated, washed and dried in an oven in vacuo and there are thus obtained 780 g. of a product containing 515 u/mg.

EXAMPLE 3 Seven hundred eighty grams of the antibiotic prepared as described in example 2, containing 515 u/mg., are dissolved in liters of distilled water.

The solution is filtered through a bed of fossil silica and then passed through a column (internal diameter 9 cm.) containing 6 liters of Dowex 1-X2 resin (chloride form). [Dowex is a registered trademark]. The column is washed successively with:

distilled water, until the effluent is colorless 6 liters formic acid-water mixture 10-90 by volume) 20 liters formic acid-water-methanol mixture (10-10-80 by volume) 20 liters methanol-writer mixture (80-20 by volume) 20 liters The antibiotic is then eluted by a methanol-water mixture (80-20 by volume) to which 10 g.ll. of potassium chloride have been added.

Ten-liter fractions are collected; the most active fractions (two to six) are recombined and concentrated under reduced pressure at a temperature below 40 C. until a final volume of 3 liters is obtained.

The concentrate is dialyzed for 48 hours against 40 liters of distilled water renewed three times through a regenerated cellulose membrane to eliminate the mineral salts and low molecular weight organic impurities, and then freeze-dried.

There are thus obtained 27 g. of purified antibiotic in the form of its potassium salt, containing 12,300 u/mg. and having the following physicochernical characteristics:

appearance: readily water-soluble beige-pink amorphous powder ultraviolet spectrum: determination from a 50 mg./l. solution in water: a maximum absorption at 255 nm. (E f- 31,, 106.5)

its elementary composition is:

C%=46.9 H%%.65 O%=36.9 (by difference) EXAMPLE 4 An inoculum culture medium is prepared as described in example 1 in a 170'liter fermentation vessel. The medium, whose pH value after sterilization is 7.0, is inoculated with 200 ml. of an agitated Erlenmeyer culture of the strain Streptomyces venezuelae var. fulvofurvescens DS 11,355. The culture is developed for 30 hours under the agitation, aeration and temperature conditions described in example 1.

The production culture is carried out in a 800-liter fermen tation vessel charged with 500 liters of the medium described in example 1. This medium, whose pH after sterilization is 6.90, is inoculated with 50 liters of the inoculum culture in a l70-liter fermentation vessel as described above. After cultivation for 99 hours, under the agitation, aeration and temperature conditions employed for the culture of example 1, the pH value of the medium is 8.45 and the volume of the medium is 495 liters. The quantity of the antibiotic present is 1520 u/ml.

EXAMPLE 5 Four hundred ninety-five liters of culture medium of Strepromyces venezuelae var. fulvofurvescens DS 1 1,355 prepared as described in example 4 are treated as described in example 2.

There are obtained 480 g. of crude antibiotic containing 1000 u/mg. Four hundred and seventy grams of the crude antibiotic prepared as described in example 5 and containing 1000 u/mg. are treated as in example 3.

There are then obtained 14.6 g. of purified antibiotic in the form of its potassium salt, containing 19,400 u/mg. and having the following physicochemical characteristics:

appearance: readily water-soluble whitish amorphous powder.

ultraviolet spectrum: determination from a 50 mg./1. solution in water. a maximum absorption at 256 nm. (El f =120) its elementary composition is:

ample.

EXAMPLE 7 A solution is prepared which contains 50 g. of the potassium salt of 11,837 R.P. prepared by the method of example 6 in distilled water to make 500 cc. This solution is sterilized by filtration through a bacteriostatic filter and then charged into ampuls (5 cc. per ampul). The solution in the ampuls is then freeze-dried and the ampuls are sealed. For parenteral administration, the content of the ampuls are dissolved immediately before use in 5 cc. of distilled water to make an injectable solution. in this manner, there are obtained about 5 cc. of solution containing 0.5 g. of the antibiotic.

A subculture of Streptomyces venezuelae var. fulvofurvescens (NRRL 3345 or 3355) can be obtained from the permanent collection of the Northern Utilization Research and 1 Development Collection of the Northern Utilization Research and Development Division, Agricultural Research Service, US. Dept. of Agriculture, Peoria, 111., U.S.A., by anyone referring to this patent publication.

We claim:

1. Process for the production of the antibiotic 11,837 R.P. which comprises aerobically cultivating an organism selected from the group Strepwmyces venezuelae, var. fulvofurvescens DS 7,103 (NRRL 3354) and Streptomyces venezuelae, var. fulvofurvescens DS 1 1,355 (NRRL 3355) on an aqueous nutrient medium containing assimilable sources of carbon, nitrogen and inorganic substances, and separating the 1 1,837 R.P. formed during the cultivation.

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein the culture is effected under submerged aerobic culture conditions at a pH between 6.0 and 7.8 and at a temperature from 23 to 35 C. with an aeration rate of 0.3 to 2 liters of air per liter of medium per minute for from 4 to 7 days.

3. Process according to claim 2, wherein the pH of the nutrient medium at the beginning of the culture is between 6.5 and 7.5.

4. Process according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the culture is 25 to 28 C.

5. Process according to claim 2, wherein the 11,837 R.P. is separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to below 5, filtering and extracting the filter cake with water containing a lower alcohol at a pH of 3 to 7.

6. Process according to claim 2, wherein the 1 1,837 R.P. is separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to below 5, filtering and extracting the filter cake with a mixture of lower alcohols.

7. Process according to claim 2, wherein the 1 1,837 R.P. is separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to about 7 and absorbing the antibiotic on to a strongly basic anion exchange resin from which it is eluted with an aqueous alcoholic solution containing an electrolyte.

8. Process according to claim 5, wherein the crude antibiotic is purified by chromatography on a strongly basic anion exchange resin.

9. Process according to claim 6, wherein the crude antibiotic is purified by chromatography on a strongly basic anion exchange resin.

10. Process according to claim 7, wherein the crude antibiotic is purified by chromatography on a strongly basic anion exchange resin.

11. Process according to claim 8, wherein the partially purifled antibiotic obtained is further purified by dialysis of an aqueous solution thereof.

12. Process according to claim 9, wherein the partially purified antibiotic obtained is further purified by dialysis of an aqueous solution thereof.

13. Process according to claim 10, wherein the partially purified antibiotic obtained is further purified by dialysis of an aqueous solution thereof.

I? i h 9 

2. Process according to claim 1, wherein the culture is effected under submerged aerobic culture conditions at a pH between 6.0 and 7.8 and at a temperature from 23* to 35* C. with an aeration rate of 0.3 to 2 liters of air per liter of medium per minute for from 4 to 7 days.
 3. Process according to claim 2, wherein the pH of the nutrient medium at the beginning of the culture is between 6.5 and 7.5.
 4. Process according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the culture is 25* to 28* C.
 5. Process according to claim 2, wherein the 11,837 R.P. is separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to below 5, filtering and extracting the filter cake with water containing a lower alcohol at a pH of 3 to
 7. 6. Process according to claim 2, wherein the 11,837 R.P. is separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to below 5, filtering and extracting the filter cake with a mixture of lower alcohols.
 7. Process according to claim 2, wherein the 11,837 R.P. is separated from the culture medium by adjusting the pH of the medium to about 7 and absorbing the antibiotic on to a strongly basic anion exchange resin from which it is eluted with an aqueous alcoholic solution containing an electrolyte.
 8. Process according to claim 5, wheRein the crude antibiotic is purified by chromatography on a strongly basic anion exchange resin.
 9. Process according to claim 6, wherein the crude antibiotic is purified by chromatography on a strongly basic anion exchange resin.
 10. Process according to claim 7, wherein the crude antibiotic is purified by chromatography on a strongly basic anion exchange resin.
 11. Process according to claim 8, wherein the partially purified antibiotic obtained is further purified by dialysis of an aqueous solution thereof.
 12. Process according to claim 9, wherein the partially purified antibiotic obtained is further purified by dialysis of an aqueous solution thereof.
 13. Process according to claim 10, wherein the partially purified antibiotic obtained is further purified by dialysis of an aqueous solution thereof. 